The present invention refers to a multiple use water vehicle whose object is a new type of floating vessel that may permit not only its motion under optimal conditions of floatability, but also, owing to its structure, it may permit the rescue of persons from the water, (especially in areas of wave break), to lift goods and structures of all types from liquid media, to transport goods and to practice sports or entertainment activities, etc.
Some types of pneumatic floating vessels are already known such as rubber boats and similar ones which are suitable to render some types of services and activities. These known pneumatic floating vessels raise several problems; among said problems is that they retain water between the pneumatic structures that form its walls and the floor.
Catamarans, whose structure is mounted on sets of floating pontoons are equally known. They also pose the problem of collecting water, which results in their instability (the floatation line varies and is uncontrollable); this fact makes them unsuitable for use in big wave areas such as the sea.
The new water vehicle described-in the present invention has faced and overcome the problems stated above by means of a floating structure that may be rigid (hard) or inflatable ,pneumatic with flexible walls in such a way that it not only has the advantage of not collecting water, but, if there happened to occur a breakage or puncture in one of the pontoons or in the principal float, the structure continues to operate without sinking, thus permitting it to arrive at a safe place to repair the damage.
Another advantage of the invention consists in including a stabilizer which is formed of a watertight compartment that can be fed through an orifice which is plugged from outside, thus permitting to add or to remove ballast (for example liquid), so as to vary the flotation line of the vessel and, consequently, to vary its stability. This makes it suitable to the conditions of the liquid medium wherein it moves (i.e. if the water is very calm the flotation line goes down and it is possible to navigate with larger projection of the vehicle above the water level, whereas in case of surge, the flotation line goes up and it becomes necessary to increase the weight by adding ballast into the stabilizer compartment).
Another advantage of the invention is the possibility of using the vessel for rescuing persons from the water; this can be done by means of lateral belts which permit hoisting the persons on board in a horizontal position relatively easily, taking into consideration that hoisting people from the water is usually a rather difficult operation.
Another purpose of the invention is to permit the use of the principal float as an emergency decompressor chamber, applicable to swimmers who, in the course of a diving practice, have had, for some reason, to rapidly ascend to the surface.
A further application of the vessel is to use it for quick motion with a small part under water (as the boat heels over separating its bow from the water), by means of the use of sliding skis provided on the base of the pontoons, which permit its motion in snow or ice with an eolic drive engine and which also permits varying the water line.
One further possibility is to use the stabilizer compartment as an auxiliary water or fuel deposit to the effect of increasing the autonomy of the vehicle or to permit the transport of liquids plus the additional feature that said compartment may come optionally with a partition wall for counteracting the rolling effect to some extent.
Apart from the above stated, further advantages and purposes of the invention will be disclosed in the course of the specifications.
For the above stated reasons, it is easy to imagine the acceptance of the invention is to have when put into practice, whatever may be its category and destination since, owing to its characteristics, it can be used for economical transport of persons and/or cargos as well as for rescuing operations, sports and entertainment, hoisting or removing goods from the water, etc.